World Footy News

Timuçin Sindirgilioglu had a dream. Born and raised in Carlton, he played footy for his school, the Princes Hill Football Club, and was asked to try out for Carlton's under 19s team, the old development division of the VFL. His footballing career was however put on hold when his family moved back to Turkey in 1987.

Back in those days it was pretty hard for a teenager to set up a club whilst also getting used to a new culture and environment. Now, thanks to the internet and continuous communication with friends back in Melbourne during the past 10 years, his long-held dream is about to become a reality.

The Karsiyaka Dockers have hit the training track as the first footy club in Turkey, based in the western port city of Izmir. The Dockers hope to be playing matches against regional opposition and possibly other local teams by next year.

Footy has always been an obsession for Sindirgilioglu, as he tells us, "Starting a footy club has been a huge ambition of mine for the past 20 years. I was born and raised in Carlton and competitively played football locally for my school team and the Princes Hill Football club. Sadly I missed out on an invitation by the Carlton Football Club to try out for its U19's squad. I was a fast-paced centreman but also sometimes assumed a role on the wings and also sometimes played on the backline as well."

The club has been dubbed the Karsiyaka Dockers and will be officially registered as a sports club with the Turkish Amateur Sports Association within a few weeks time.

The North Izmir Kangaroos was considered as an option for the club's nickname, but at the end it was decided that Karsiyaka was a better trademark for publicity.

The name was chosen for a few reasons; firstly, Karsiyaka is a suburb on the shores of Izmir, which is a major port city of Turkey - similiar to what Fremantle is regards to the city of Perth. Karsiyaka is also host to one of the most prestigious sporting and soccer clubs in Turkey - Karsiyaka Sports Club KSK. Most players come from the shipping industry - in line with the club nickname.

Sindirgilioglu tells us, "I have around 20 blokes well interested and waiting eagerly for the first training sessions to begin. Most of them come from basketball, soccer and handball. but the skills will come in handy.

"Only two of them, apart from myself, are expat Australian Turks. I had some interest from an Australian bloke living in Istanbul. But the roots of the formation will be in Izmir. Once we have everything set up and ready to go, everyone from other parts of Turkey will be welcome to join.

"Our club will be the grassroots of Australian football in Turkey. We are hoping that our club will be a motive for other clubs to be formed in Turkey and gradually in a few years' time to form a national competition. This is our main focus. Since we are ideally geographically located close to Europe and the Middle East, we will be targeting some clubs overseas for some practice matches."

The Dockers are expecting to have a squad ready for the 2009 EU Cup, although there is a chance they may appear sooner. "For us, since we are just starting to get things together, thinking about the 2008 Eurocup competition will be a bit too romantic. But you may never know what will happen in the coming days."

"Money is not our main concern yet since we will be training locally, that is why we did not concentrate on sponsorship for the time being. Gathering interest from local potential players is far more important. Obviously sponsorship will come in handy when we'll be in need of more equipment and when we start to tour for games with overseas clubs."

Sindirgilioglu also states they will be targeting a Turkish team at the 2012 International Cup. "At least, if we could field a full squad of Turkish players and find the necessary financial resources, we will be joining."

Also in regular contact has been Oscar Yildiz, the Melbourne-based coordinator of the Turkish team that competed in the Multicultural Cup a few years ago, with Sindirgilioglu sure that Turkish Aussie Rules players in Melbourne will be offering assistance technically once things develop further.

"Another dream is have the Anzac Cup match played where it should be played. Here in Gallipoli!"

A website is planned for the coming weeks, but in the meantime, anyone wanting to get in touch can reach the club via their Facebook group.